SPACE:The Final Frontier

   Calling myself a fan of Star Wars is an understatement to say the least. Space and the "unknown" are thrilling marvels that every human being thinks about. In this article "Planets in the Sky With Diamonds" author Diane Ackerman discusses possible planets harboring life such as "HD85512b" and "Kepler-16b". These planets are in what's called the "Goldilocks" which is the habitable zone at which life can flourish. The idea that life may exist somewhere else boggles my mind and the author does an excellent job keeping the reader interested. For example Ackerman uses the fictional "Star Wars" planet "Tatooine" as a reference for possible world harboring life. Tatooine orbits twin suns, which seems impossible but further explores the imagination and wonder of whats out there. I agree with what the author is trying to get at, a humans we explore, we quest, and are curious of the unknown. It's part of our nature to explore and evolve, Ackerman poses the question to why NASA is currently obsolete when this natural curiosity of exploring the unknown fuels our technology and our imagination. I feel that it's a true shame that people think that space exploration isn't needed in this day of age when throughout history exploration and wonder fueled our ancestors progress and success. Space is truly the final frontier and by exploring space we are challenging the labyrinth of our imagination and further pushing the boundary of our reality and I agree with Ackerman in how in order to go forward, we need to explore.
   Ackerman does an excellent job in  persuading the reader about space and how exploration is something we thrive on. Ackerman clearly understood her audience because she thrives on her readers imagination by referring to "Star Wars" in her article. Everyone knows "Star Wars" and by referring to it Ackerman causes the readers to paint an almost perfect picture of what these possible life-harboring planets look like and this connection allows the reader to understand further what Ackerman basis of the article is: Why wouldn't you want to explore the universe in search of these wondrous and unfathomable planets? Ackerman's persuasion is aimed towards the human imagination and the pioneer spirit we all have and in doing so, Ackerman creates a good argument against the current situation of the NASA space program.

Article by: Diane Ackerman
Published: October 1, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/opinion/sunday/planets-in-the-sky-with-diamonds.html?_r=1